Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1887-04-01
PEDIGREE HUNTING.
VAS PILOT A MORGAN ? TRAVELLER.


Editors Tmf, Field and Farm 1T is
safe to say that to ascertain the breed
ing of the little black pacing stallion,
Old Pilot, that turned upin New Orleans
in the hands of Yankee peder, is
only second in importance to Mr.. Wal
lace to a blessed assurance of an eternal
inheritance that is incOrruptible, unde-
filed and that passeth not away, and
where thieves cannot break through and
steal. In his September number he asks,
"Who brought Old Pilot from Canada"
NV answer is that | do not know any
thing about it, but at the risk of produc
ing fit of apopleXy Gas | must unavoid-
able present the red rag to the old gen
tleman) will now give what the writer
believes to be the most probable resolu-
ton of the mystery. The fact that he
was brought from Canada has been pref
ty well established. | believe; that being
true, it is perfectly safe to say that he
was brought from what is called Lower
Canada (now the Province of Quebec
About the year 1896 or % a jet black
stallion called Traveller was brought from
somewhere in the United States to my
native county (ArgenteuiD and to the
best of my recollection was represented
to be son or grandson of Morton's Tray
eler. and thoroughbred. He did stud SER
vice among those little French mares for
anumber of years, some eight or nine.and
left pretty numerous progeny; and no
horse ever stamped his color and charac-
teristicS upon his get more uniformly. |
have no recollection of having seen a son
or daughter of Traveller that wasn't as
black as tar: very few over - hands and
from 800 to 1000 lbs. weight: very fast
walkers and trotters; wonderfully spirit
ed. great rOadstcrS and would run like
scared cats and what astonished the
writer even at that early day was that
quite a number of his get from mares
that knew nothing but trot would pace
like ghosts. From all accounts the writ
err has ever had of that little black PAGER.
he possessed wonderful spirit, speed and
endurance: that he was of hot blood is
unquestonablc. and inasmuch as Travel
er was the first thoroughbred that ever
stood in that part of the country. it is not
dollars to cents that he was not a son of
Old Traveller. 1t was the superiority of
the get of this horse over every other
strain in the province that first impressed
the writer with the value of thorough
bred blood. Even as saddle horses their
equals were not to be found: their natnr-
al walk was between five and six miles
an hour a gait that was entirely unknown
previous to the advent of this horse. Not
outstanding that | have failed to furnish
the slightest proof that Pilot was so bred.
ii would doubtless be accepted as the
most probable solution of the mystery of
his origin but for this having thorough
bred blood which Mr. Wallace now pro-
tesses to detest. OF one thing. however,
he may rest assurcd-that more proba-
bic solution of the mystery of his breed
ing he will never get. That pony that
could cover a full mile in , :26 ID and
"a ,i,rhi Il he,
he is reported to have done) was of pure
plebian blood no one of any intelligence
can believe. At that early day the art of
fitting horse for such "A feat was I'M
known, which makes his plebian origin
all the more improbable.
WOODSTOCK, VT, Jan. l, 1856.
Editors Turt, FTeld and Ftrm.-We have
read with much interest the facts given
by "LeXington' in your last issue of the
horse Traveller, taken from the United
States to Canada about 1926.
The Traveller described, we are conf
dent. is the horse that we have tried hard
TO know about, as we believe it was one
of his sons that stood at Craftsbury. VT,
about 1878, and was called Young Tray
eler; his sire was called Old Traveller. 1t
was said that Young Traveller was taken
from the northern part of New York to
Vermont.
lie was dark mahogany bay, with full
name and tail, about II 3+ hands and
weighed about 975 lbs. lie was "A very
high-headed horse for his size, fine car
riage, very strong made forward, hind
parts not as good. He was very fast
both at the pace and trot, and no horse
could stay with him tar an all-day's ride
or drive. Many of his colts took after
him as to color, and there was quite a
number that were jet black. From this
we inferred that his sire was let black in
color. a few of his colts were chestnuts.
enough to show that the chestnut color
came from him.
ID. c. Iinsley, in his morgan Horses"
states that the grandam of Morgan Caesar
was by Morton Traveller, not the Morton
Traveller of the Stud Book.
This Morton Traveller may have been
the sire of the Traveller "LeXngton" de-
scribes.
There was black horse advertised at
Danville between the season of 1888 and
1884 that was called the Traveller. He
was called Sioux in 1888 and his adver-
tisement states he is about - hands high.
This horse may have been one of Lex
ington's" Travellers sons. He was known,
too, by the name of the Daniel Dana
horse. 1t was once strongly claimed that
the Daniel Dana horse was the sire of the
Jenison horse, that was the sire of Old
Morrill,. But upon investigation, it was
found that the Daniel Dana horse or The
Traveller was taken to Peoria, H., about
1888, several years before the Jenison
horse was sired.
We would like to have Lexington
give more minute description of the
horse taken to Canada called Traveller,
state how old he was in 1927 and what
became of him, and If any of his colts
were, in build, like the Young Traveller
kept at Craftsbury, VT.
Yours, ALLEN w. THOMSON.
This communication was printed in the
Turf for February 3, 1886;
Editors INrf Field and Farm In your
January Sth issue | find letter from AL